Rajiv Gandhi case convict Perarivalan granted 30-day parole

Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday granted 30-day parole to A G Perarivalan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on medical grounds.

Perarivalan, who is lodged at the Central prison in Puzhal outside Chennai, will be granted parole for a month on a request made by his mother Arputhammal, a government statement quoted Chief Minister M K Stalin as saying. The life convict, whose release along with six others was recommended by the Tamil Nadu cabinet in 2018, is unwell and doctors have advised him to be careful about his health.

The announcement comes days after Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) MP D Ravikumar wrote to Stalin asking him to direct officials to release Perarivalan, one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, on parole for 90 days.

Ravikumar, Lok Sabha MP from Villupuram, cited an order by the Supreme Court dated May 7, 2021 saying those inmates who were granted parole, “pursuant to our earlier orders”, should be again granted parole of 90 days in order to tide over the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perarivalan is among the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case whose release was recommended by the Tamil Nadu government. However, Governor Banwarilal Purohit has shifted the responsibility of deciding on the issue to the Centre.